The Strictly Low Histamine Diet

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Is Food Making You Sick?

The Strictly Low Histamine Diet

Symptoms of histamine intolerance can be relieved with antihistamine drugs, however these drugs can have adverse effects with prolonged use. By far the best way to treat histamine intolerance (HIT) is with diet. All foods with the potential to raise histamine levels should be avoided until your health improves significantly. James L. Gibb’s bestselling book ‘Is Food Making You Sick?’ discusses histamine intolerance in depth, including causes, symptoms and therapies, backed by scientific research.

Along with a list of low histamine, low histidine and low oxalate foods to help histamine intolerance sufferers, it includes a wide range of recipes for everything from entrées to desserts.

About the author

James L. Gibb is an educator, novelist and health researcher with a particular focus on food-related diseases. A university graduate with a diploma of education, Gibb became interested in the relationship between nutrition and health when a family member was diagnosed with a chronic disease. He spent many years investigating natural alternatives to the powerful drugs prescribed for this condition, whose side effects can be damaging and debilitating. Over time he accumulated a wealth of information, which culminated in the writing of this book.

‘Medical science has made enormous leaps in the 21st century,’ writes Gibb, ‘and without it, we would all be worse off. Dedicated medical researchers and doctors have improved our quality of life far beyond the standards available to preceding generations. That said, it is sometimes the afflicted themselves, or those closest to them, who are motivated to perservere just that little bit more keenly in pursuit of answers. Often, people with a personal investment in a health problem will stop at nothing to find a solution, seeking far and wide, never giving up.

‘ One example is the relentless quest of Augusto and Michaela Odone to find a treatment for their son Lorenzo’s adrenoleukodystrophy, in the face of scepticism from health professionals. Their experience was later dramatized in the movie ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’.

‘ Another example is provided by Elaine Gottschall, whose daughter was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis. Medications failed to improve the child’s condition, and most doctors dismissed the idea that diet could be in any way associated with this digestive disease. It was a maverick doctor who thought ‘outside the box’ who finally led Ms Gottschall to a treatment for her daughter. When he died, to preserve his knowledge she wrote a book called ‘Breaking the Vicious Cycle’, which has been translated into several languages, and is published worldwide.’

‘My own experience with a suffering child motivated me to search for answers even in the most unlikely places, which conventional medicine may overlook. Accepted medical opinion is far from infallible, as has been demonstrated from time to time, notably when Dr Barry Marshall swallowed Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria to test the theory that they were a cause of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. The H. pylori theory was ridiculed by scientists and doctors of the ‘establishment’, who did not believe any bacteria could live in the acidic environment of the stomach. Marshall has been quoted as saying in 1998 that “(e)veryone was against me, but I knew I was right.”

‘Sometimes it takes an outsider, unblinkered by conventional training, to perceive a truth. (After all, it was a humble clerk in the Swiss Patents Office who became the father of modern physics.)

Please note!

The team behind “Is Food Making You Sick? The Strictly Low-histamine Diet” is always updating the book to reflect the latest scientific research. Look for the 2017 edition. The date is printed on the front cover and on the title page.

Flaxseeds (the 2014 and 2015 editions) are no longer listed as suitable for people with histamine intolerance.

Despite still being listed as “well-tolerated” by the Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) and other reputable sources, coconut is no longer recommended for HIT sufferers. It has been added to the “foods to avoid” list in the book. Recipes in the 2017 edition have been revised accordingly.

The Strictly Low Histamine Diet is just that – strict. Our aim is to exclude any foods that possess even a minimal chance of aggravating the condition.